


ghosts of the sea

by lesserkey (cogito)



Category: Final Fantasy XIV
Genre: Gen, POV Second Person, Spoilers for the final area of Shadowbringers, if you like squint it might be emet selch/wol, the twins are here but very briefly.
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-16
Updated: 2020-06-16
Packaged: 2021-03-03 20:13:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,028
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24751420
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cogito/pseuds/lesserkey
Summary: the warrior of light dreams of the sea.
Comments: 4
Kudos: 6





	ghosts of the sea

you were walking along a city path when you heard the voice.

it had come from the sea, or from the source, you think, that unfortunately named lake near weed. 

there had been a voice inviting you to its shores, not unlike the siren from pharos sirius. though, had it been a siren, you would have known the call for affection and love and the water would have flooded your lungs until you remembered you were blessed by the kojin kami. so, though you knew not the spirit that called you there, you were certain it had not been a siren.

the summon of the sea spoke in half-familiar tones, your mind knew who it was in a dream, though it bore no resemblance to your waking world. when you awoke, any similarity evaporated into thin air.

a sweet dream in so many ways-yet, the aches and pains in your muscles disagreed. 

your protective shadow's anger burned away at the edges of your mind, and there was nothing you could do besides let it simmer until it became nothing but another voice in your aether. 

now fully woken by the fury of your esteem, you finally had a chance to take in your surroundings.

alisaie had fallen asleep at the foot of your bed in the spagyrics. someone had the decency to drape a warm blanket over her shoulders. nearby, alphinaud was sprawled out on a chair with his carbuncle in his lap. if you teased him about it, he would have never lived it down.

how had you gotten here? your shadow might have known but, not yet. you couldn't bring yourself to face their wrath.

you closed your eyes, for but a brief moment, trying to recall the steps that took you here and found your memory lacking.

ardbert appeared before you when you opened your eyes, as he had so many times before the pendants. his familiar appearance was a relief.

he saw the way your face lit up and crossed and uncrossed his arms. ardbert's brows furrowed slightly, and he inhaled to speak but ultimately thought better of it. shaking his head, he said, _i'm worried about you, but you should talk to your shadow before anything else,_ and walked out of the spagyrics into the night.

so that left you and the other parts of you that you knew so well. 

perhaps to soften the inevitable blow, myste arrived first. the first thing he did was rifle through the cabinets to find a blanket for alphinaud and his carbuncle. seeing alisaie kneeled on the floor, he tsked softly and said, _poor girl's going to scrape her knees._

 _i know_ , you replied.

myste covered alphinaud as carefully as he could without suffocating the poor carbuncle, _they've been looking after you since the fishers found you wandering the woods of Lakeland._ he paused, _you should talk to_ them.

you exhaled a long, exhausted sigh, but relented. 

myste shook his head and disappeared to have your shadow take his place.

a familiar gathering and unraveling of shadows later, they were standing there. their arms crossed in disappointment and probably anger, you could only brace yourself for the verbal lashing. though you could not see their face, you knew it to be one of irritation and anger. perhaps out of consideration for the twins, they were silent. no, you knew better, they were waiting for an explanation or an apology.

you smiled, hapless, _i don't know what happened. i'm sorry?_

 _don't be sorry, idiot._ harsh words, but there was no venom in them, only tender concern wrapped in a shell of spikes, _it's good you let me take over before you threw yourself into the lake._

_come now, you must be joking-_

with a little bit more of an edge this time, they repeated, _you were sleepwalking and tried to throw yourself into the lake._

_but i don't sleepwalk._

they walked slowly towards your bed and flicked your forehead. the cold metal and the sharp contact of metal on skin made you flinch, but it was a serious issue now. they sat on the side of your bed, opposite from alisaie. _you would have drowned yourself if ardbert didn't yell himself hoarse to wake me._

_like the time with the fuath._

they snorted, _you were trying to make **yourself** a fuath this time._

you glanced down at alisaie, then across the room at alphinaud. their soft breathing reached you, as did the exhaustion in their bodies from how soundly they slept. esteem must have felt the same because they briefly secured their hand around yours and faded away. _you need only call._

 _i know,_ you sighed. _thank you._

from outside the slightly ajar door, you could see the aetheryte staring back at you. with your options being doing nothing or risk waking the twins, you sunk back against your pillow and closed your eyes.

a magnificent city greeted you with open arms. towers spiraled above your head, the works of your brilliant architect friend who was walking beside you now in irritation. _are you even listening to what I'm saying?_

and you laughed at him, nodding as you continued down the path together, hand in hand. he scowled and frowned, but not unlike your esteem, it was concern delivered indirectly. you could see it everywhere on his tired face. 

for you, this had once been home. 

a voice called you from the sea, creeping towards you like shadowy tendrils. it appeared beside you and the architect, lacing its hand with your free one, and urged you along the marbled streets. your friend continued on about issues at work, ranting with frustration, and you had to wonder if he saw your guest or if he was choosing to ignore it. 

the three of you walked for who knows how long, three sets of footprints in white sand.

where are we going? you wanted to ask, but you already knew.

cold water lapped at your feet, rising to your knees and thighs, before plunging you entirely in its depths.

you awoke in the spagyrics with alisaie at the foot of your bed, and alphinaud passed out in his chair.

**Author's Note:**

> i had a dream about the fourteenth calling to the wol recently and put it into words.
> 
> with every rejoining the warrior of light is one step closer to becoming the fourteenth. if the wol can already see ardbert, why can't they hear the fourteenth, however sundered they may be?
> 
> its 5am I'm not beta-ing this.
> 
> I can be found on twitter at [Iesserkey](http://twitter.com/iesserkey)


End file.
